Then Landen’s hand moved to his throat.
Not the gentle resting weight Adriel was used to. That time, Landen’s fingers closed, the pressure applied to the sides, restricting the air flow. Landen’s eyes locked onto his, his other hand braced on the mattress, hips still moving in deep, steady strokes.
“Breathe,” Landen told him, and the command was soft but absolute. “Look at me.”
Adriel’s eyes went wide. The pressure on his throat was; he didn’t have words for it. It wasn’t pain. His vision softened at the edges. Every sensation amplified. His whole body lit up, every nerve ending firing at once, pleasure so sharp it bordered on something else entirely.
He loved it.
The realization hit him the same way it had that first time Landen had tied him up; sudden, undeniable, a door he didn’t know was there swinging open. He loved the pressure. Loved the control. Loved the way it made everything else disappear, the way his mind went blank and clean and there was nothing left except Landen’s eyes and Landen’s hands and the feeling of being held exactly where he was, suspended between breath and release.
Landen’s eyes darkened. His grip adjusted, fractionally tighter, and Adriel moaned, the sound coming from somewhere deep and involuntary, his back arching, his cock throbbing between them.
“There it is,” Landen breathed. “There you are. God, you’re beautiful like this. So open. So perfect. Giving yourself to me completely.”
He held the pressure for three heartbeats, Adriel counted them, couldn’t help it, felt each one pounding in his ears, and then released.
The rush hit Adriel like a wave. Air flooded back, sensation amplified, his whole body buzzing with it, his hole clenching around Landen. He gasped, vision swimming, and Landen was still moving inside him, still thrusting, still watching him with that dark, hungry focus.
Landen’s hand returned to his throat.Pressed.Waited.Released.
Again.Press. Release.
Again.
Each time the pressure returned, it amplified everything. Each release flooded him with a rush that made his entire body sing.The edges of his vision swam. Colors blurred. Sounds muffled. He was crying again, tears streaming, and he didn’t care, didn’t care about anything except this, except Landen inside him and around him and holding his throat and telling him he was good, he was perfect, he was everything.
“That’s it,” Landen murmured, his voice coming from very far away and right inside his ear at the same time. “That’s it, baby. Let go. Let me have all of you.”
Press. Hold. Release.
Press. Hold. Release.
Adriel was floating now. His body was still there, he could feel it, distantly, could feel Landen moving inside him, could feel his own cock hard and leaking against his stomach, but he was also somewhere else, somewhere soft and dark and warm, where nothing existed except the rhythm of Landen’s hand and the sound of his voice.
“You’re so good,” Landen was saying. “So good for me. The best thing that’s ever happened to me. Do you understand? The best thing.”
Press. Hold. Release.
“I love you. I love every part of you. Every inch. Every curve. Every sound you make. You’re mine, Adriel. All of you. Forever.”
Press. Hold.
Landen’s hand released his throat fully. Blood rushed back. Adriel gasped, vision sparking, pleasure crashing through him in a wave so intense his whole body locked.
“Cum for me,” Landen growled. “Now. Let go.”
Adriel came.
Every muscle in his body seized, his back bowing off the bed, Landen’s name torn from his throat in a sound he didn’t recognize as his own. It went on and on, wave after wave, his cock pulsing between them, cum streaking across his stomach and chest, and still it continued, wringing him dry, taking everything he had.
And then…
Everything went quiet. Soft and vast and warm, like sinking into water that held you instead of pulling you under. The edges of the room dissolved. His body was there but distant, floating, and there was nothing; no thought, no fear, no voice in his head telling him he was too much or not enough or wrong. There was only warmth. Only peace. Only the faintest awareness of being held.
He didn’t know how long he was gone. It could have been seconds. It could have been hours. Time didn’t exist in that place.
The first thing that came back was Landen’s voice. Far away at first, then closer, like surfacing through layers of warm water. Soft. Steady. Repeating his name.
